Confusion confounded
by phyfrea
Summary: Sonny's brother, Jake Munroe, is at Hollywood for vacation.Chad, however, mistakes him for Sonny's boyfriend. Follow Sonny, Chad, Jake and Tawni as they attempt to make sense of everything taking place around them. Romance,humor,drama.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance or any of its characters. **

At the cafeteria:

"Portlyn, who's the new guy sitting with the Randoms?", Chad asked, his eyes slightly narrowed at the 'new guy's proximity to Sonny.

"I heard that he's some friend of that Munroe girl from her hometown."

"He's from Wisconsin?"

"No, from her hometown. How many times do I have to tell you that?", asked Portlyn, slightly exasperated.

"That's what...from Wisconsin?"

"Why would I know what her hometown is?", asked Portlyn, now surveying Chad with twinkling eyes. However, she refrained from voicing her thoughts aloud, knowing that Chad would get all defensive if confronted about his crush on Sonny Munroe; it would only be a waste of her energy.

"Whatever", shrugged Chad, his physical composure indicating nothing of the whirlwind of thoughts in his head. Was that new guy a boyfriend of Sonny's? If so, why hadn't Sonny told him about him earlier? She would have definitely shown some signs of being in a relationship...wouldn't have she? She wouldn't have flirted with him if she had been in a relationship. But then again, he could have simply misread her gestures… she might not have been flirting with him at all. And moreover, 'friends' didn't simply turn up at a place so far from home to see their buddy, unless they had a really tight friendship. Chad, feeling uneasy about the conclusion he had arrived at, that the boy was indeed her boyfriend, finished his lunch as quickly as possible and exited the cafeteria.

Later, at the prophouse:

"You eat that crap for lunch everyday, Sonny?",asked Jake, with a look of distaste on his face.

"Yeah"

"Why? Doesn't mom give you lunch?"

"She does quite often."

"Ok"

"'Kay Jake, you wanna watch us rehearse? Or are you going home?"

"Going home…I, unlike somebody here, would like to spend time for the betterment of humanity, by pushing the horizons of science farther than ever…"

"A simple 'I am gonna go even crazier than I already am by reading a stupid physics book' would have sufficed"

"Physics is not stupid"

"Yeah, and So Random! is a drama"

"Yes it is, you people _so_ do not have a sense of humour…for example: listen to these jokes:

What is the sound of two electrons crashing?PLANK!

What is the sound of electron revolving around a nucleus?Bohrrrrrrr"

Sonny stared at Jake.

"See, you did not get the jokes. Inference: you are not humorous"

"Jake. That. Was. Not. A. Joke. Now please go home before I force mom to take you to a psychiatrist."

"You are just jealous of me. Ha ha, Sonny's jealous. Ha ha.."

"Shut up Jay, you are getting even more on my nerves than Chad does."

Later in the evening, in the parking lot:

Chad hadn't gotten a chance all day to 'accidentally' bump into the brunette. He hadn't gotten a chance to pick on her, either. And a day when Chad did not pull her legs was a bad day indeed..

"Hi Chad! Bye Chad!"

Chad turned around in response to a bright voice.

He smiled.

"Hey Munroe, wait.."

"Cant. Sorry. That idiot is already making faces at me. Gotta hurry. Bye!"

Chad looked at the car Sonny was getting into. The same guy who had been with her at lunch was in the driver's seat. His insides curled up and he glared at him drive Sonny away.

In the Munroes' car:

"So…what's up with you and the blond guy?"

Sonny had a pretty good idea who her brother was talking about. But she wanted to see if she was still in the safe zone. There was an infinitesimal chance that she was…

"Grady?", she asked innocently.

"No, the guy who was glaring at me so hard at lunch that if looks could kill, I would be dead now."

Now Sonny was confused. Why would Chad be glaring at her brother?

"Whom are you talking about?"

"The guy whose photo you take out and stare at when you think no one's looking", smirked Jake.

Sonny blushed. She was _so _going to get back at her brother for embarrassing her like this.

"None of your business."

"So there _is_ something going on, huh?", his smirk growing wider.

Sonny feigned deafness and ignored him.

**A/N**

**Some background information on **

**Jake Munroe:**

**Sonny's brother, a year and a half older than her. He is an aspiring physicist and he attends regular school in Wisconsin. He has come to LA on vacation, to spend more time with his sister and mother. The banter in the above scene is a regular Jake and Sonny. His looks are above average, yet he is nowhere near vampire hot. He has an eye on Tawni although Sonny doesn't know it yet. Even though he is slightly nerdy, he is not very asocial.**

**Portlyn's information:**

**Portlyn, mostly, is very badly informed as she picks up most of the news from studio gossip. So Chad made a mistake by asking her about the 'new guy'. Even if Portlyn had heard it right, to her, Sonny is just another actress in the studio and so she might not have paid enough attention to what she was hearing. But Portlyn has rightly guessed that Chad has a crush on Sonny. And she has a lot of fun teasing him about it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed, favorited and put my story on alerts. You'll never know how much it encouraged me. Special thanks to my three personal reviewers: my sister and two of my best friends. If you like my story, please, please let me know through a review; otherwise I may feel unappreciated :(**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.**

**Morning**

**At the studio's entrance:**

Sonny spotted a figure in a familiar brown jacket and khaki pants. Chad Dylan Cooper was taking long strides towards the entrance, his blond hair ruffled due to the wind.

"Chad, hi!"

"Sonny Munroe", he responded coldly. He halted at the entrance long enough to give her a blazing gaze and then he walked away. Sonny stared at the fast retreating figure. Since when did Chad call her by her full name, like she was someone he barely knew? And was it just a trick of her mind or did he really avoid eye contact with her? Hmmm…

She threw back her hair, exhaled sharply and walked towards the prophouse.

"Hey guys!"

"Hi Sonny!"

"Guess who's got a great idea for a new sketch?!"

"Tell us all about it!"

"Can it involve something from my book?", asked Zora, gesturing to a book titled 'A Guide to Unusual Hobbies'. Sonny took the book and flipped through the pages, her gaze lingering for a few seconds on the index page. Smiling faintly, she said, "You and my brother should get to know each other."

"Speaking of the nerd, where is he? He hasn't left for Wisconsin already, has he?", asked Tawni.

"No, he is going to be here at least for fifteen days."

**Forenoon**

**In the prophouse:**

After a rather productive brainstorming session, the cast of So Random! was lounging in the prophouse. Sonny was feeling very happy about the sketch and her cheerfulness was just waiting to overrun the threshold.

'Good' she texted Chad, giving in to her desire of wanting to remind him that she still existed.

She eagerly awaited his reply, but none came. Scowling at the phone, she chucked it at the couch. Usually Chad not replying to her texts didn't bother her. In fact Chad picked up the phone only one in every three times she called. But somehow this time it didn't feel right. It was almost as if he was ignoring her. First cold-shouldering her in the morning, now this…

It was time to pay a visit to the set of Mackenzie Falls.

"Hey guys, I'll be back in a moment."

As Sonny walked through the corridors, a Mackenzie Falls poster caught her eye. In the poster, Chad was gazing dreamily, the serene landscape behind him matching his expression. Sonny looked at his face, entranced…Oh, how she could lose herself in those sapphire eyes of his…

"See, this is what I was talking about", a smug voice said, causing Sonny to jump around.

"Jake! What are you doing here?"

"Watching you stare at that guy", he replied, pointing to the poster with a smirk on his face.

"I wasn't staring at any guy", said Sonny, defiantly.

"What's his name anyways?", Jake asked, completely ignoring Sonny's statement.

"Whose name?", she asked, still standing her ground.

Jake looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

"Ok fine…he's Chad Dylan Cooper", she answered, her voice lower than usual.

"He's a Cooper? He's related to Leon Cooper?! Good choice, Sonny, good choice."

"Who is Leon Cooper?"

"You don't know Leon Cooper? He's the C of the BCS theory of superconductivity"

"The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory", he added, looking at her confounded expression.

"Shouldn't have asked, shouldn't have asked..", Sonny pointedly muttered.

"Anyways, what did you come here for?", she asked, a little annoyed that he wasn't going away. She wanted to go see Chad and her idiot of a brother was holding her up and making her listen to his stupid physics facts. Like she cared about them. In fact, for all she cared, physics could disappear and she would still be extremely happy.

"I came here because mom asked me to give this to you", Jake said, handing her a notebook. It was sketch ideas' notebook and she seemed to have forgotten it at home.

"Okay, thanks. Now go", said Sonny, getting more and more impatient by the minute.

"I am not going to go now. I am going to hang around with you all for sometime and then have lunch and then go home."

Sonny resigned to having an unfavorable day and gave up trying to get rid of her brother. How much consternation could a girl take in a day? She turned around to walk back to the prophouse with Jake for company, giving Chad's poster a longing look before turning around and heading back to her cast.

**Background information**

**1 A look at a page of Zora's book:**

**A Guide To Unusual Hobbies guides you to**

**Build a Rube-Goldberg machine successfully**_** (such a machine really exists. Check it out. It's amusing).**_

**Design, build and program your own robot**

**Raise kittens and puppies to like one-another**

**Learn languages that are on the verge of extinction**

**Pot a plant inside a pond and watch it grow**

**Finish reading Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace in half a day **_**(it is a really big book)**_

**Transport metal objects around by magnetic levitation**

**Experience zero-gravity and complete vacuum**

**2 Jake was extra eager to spend time at the studio because of his crush on Tawni. Tawni isn't inclined romantically towards Jake as yet, but she **_**is**_** beginning to enjoy his company. Do you all want to see some Jake-Tawni? By the way, Jake is brown haired, dark eyed. And do you all like Jake Munroe and his physics streak? Please tell me in a review.**

**3 Leon Cooper is a real American Nobel Prize winning physicist.**

**A/N:**

**In case you're wondering, I am extremely fond of physics. And no, I haven't watched The Big Bang theory. But I plan to, someday. And just out of curiosity, any IPL watchers from any of the cricket-crazy nations out there?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.**

**A/N: Please leave reviews.**

**Mackenzie Falls lounge:**

Sonny's smile never ceased to brighten Chad's day. Even on the dreariest of days, the thought of simply seeing Sonny in all her glory propelled Chad to the studio. So then why _had_ he gotten so mad at her in the morning? Why _was_ his morale at an all time low?

Maybe it was the innocent demeanor with which she had greeted him: she had acted as though nothing had happened, as though nothing had changed. She hadn't bothered showing any regret for leading him on. In fact, she still seemed as willing as before to flirt with him, to play their usual good-good-fine-fine game, if her text to him in the forenoon was any indication. What did she think she was playing at? Why was she being so flippant about his emotions?

It took Chad all of his will power to not reply to Sonny's message with a 'bad'. Catharsis of the sort would only make him seem weaker. And Chad Dylan Cooper didn't _do _weak. He still had his dignity and self-respect to uphold.

Chad's anger at Sonny, however, did not prevent him from wanting to run into her on purpose, from wanting to see her radiant face, from wanting to get lost in her beautiful eyes, from wanting to hear her tinkling laugh. And even though he wanted to stay mad at her forever, he was already beginning to miss her. And thus he found himself walking to the So Random! prophouse.

**Meanwhile, at the So Random! Prophouse:**

"So Jake how was the sketch? Did we do well?"

"You did okayish, but Tawni was absolutely great!" Sonny scowled at him. Tawni, on the other hand, gave him a big smile and blew a kiss to her mirror reflection. "Ain't I always great?" But Sonny had known Tawni long enough to know that she was actually pleased with her brother's comment.

"Yes Tawni you are_ always_ great…" Sonny watched the conversation with her mouth slightly agape. Was Jake _flirting_ with Tawni?!

"And beautiful", Tawni said.

"Yes, as beautiful as the theory of relativity".

Tawni looked at him keenly for a second, opened her mouth, then, she seemed to decide against commenting on it and closed her mouth. She settled for a simple "Thanks."

Sonny coughed pointedly.

Jake snapped out of his daze and looked at her, his face slightly flushed.

"Excuse us for a second Tawni", she said and dragged him by his elbow out of Tawni's earshot.

"You are hitting on TAWNI?!"

"Errrr…no but…"

"Looks like the Randoms are extremely busy these days", interrupted a voice that sounded slightly angry. Sonny whipped her head around to see Chad striding towards them.

"Hey Chad", she said, letting go of Jake. She walked back to the prophouse with Chad and Jake followed them.

"Randoms", responded Chad, still refusing to meet her eyes. And, unlike the previous times, he seemed to be addressing all of them instead of just her. It stung. What had she done to deserve such treatment?

"What do you want Cooper?", asked Tawni.

Chad did not answer her immediately. Instead he took his time to walk towards the wall, lean back on it and rest a foot on its surface. He put his hands into his pant pockets and looked around the entire room once. Sonny noticed that he had discarded his jacket from the morning. He was only wearing his Mackenzie falls shirt and khaki trousers.

Something about his posture made Sonny want to walk to him and wrap her arms around him and never let him go. But before she could act on her inexplicable urge, Jake's voice interrupted her.

"So _you_ are Chad Cooper…the guy Sonny's cr…" Before Jake could complete the sentence, Sonny clamped her hand over his mouth, afraid that he would say something inappropriate at an inopportune moment. Ticking off Chad when he already seemed to be in a bad mood wasn't very high on her priorities. And besides, Jake was her elder brother and she could never predict when he would go all "Hey, she's my little sister, don't you dare approach her" and embarrass her.

Jealousy that had barely gone back in reared its ugly head again and Chad clenched his fists. Oh, what wouldn't he give to prise Sonny's hand off that guy's mouth. Resisting the urge to drag Sonny away from him, he averted his gaze from her hand and turned to the others.

"I am here to inform you all that tomorrow is Dakota Condor's birthday and her dad has invited all the casts to celebrate the occasion. It'll be held here at the studio itself."

Ofcourse Chad hadn't been asked to convey the message to the So Random! cast. He had just wanted an excuse to be at their prophouse and why resort to lies when he had a readymade one?

Without a word of goodbye, he turned around and left the prophouse.

What was wrong with him? Why did he feel _so_ let-down by Sonny? After all, they hadn't even been in a relationship.

He wanted his life to be in _his_ control, not Sonny's.

And something had to be done about it.

**Back at the prophouse:**

Unable to hold it in any longer, Sonny blurted out loud "WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM??"

She looked up to see five puzzled faces staring at her.

"Never mind…"

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of humor in this chapter. No background info either. So what do you think Chad'll do? How will Sonny react?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.**

**Special thanks to EllietheDisneyfreak for reviewing all the chapters and to 1maylee9 for being very enthusiastic about Jake/Tawni. channylover24, channygirl33, Katia11, WizardsANDSonnyLuv , nanoputian, ba-bangs fa-fangs and ri-riona,** **chadtastic sunshine, Reflection noitcelfeR thanks to all of you for reviewing:)**

**Mackenzie Falls lounge:**

Chad was still fuming as he flopped on the couch. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples, trying to get rid of thoughts about Sonny.

"Um…Chad Dylan Cooper? Your director asked me to give this to you", a tentative voice said.

Chad looked up to find a red-haired girl stretching an envelope in front of him.

"Thanks", he took it from her. It was the next season's schedule. He tossed it aside and glanced at her carefully, wondering where he had seen her before.

"In case you're wondering, I am Leslie…Leslie Mallory from_ Hoosier Girl_", she said, rather confidently for someone who had sounded so unsure earlier.

"And I'm single…", she added, with a flip of her long hair.

That was fast. Chad stared at her, slightly taken aback.

"Are you _asking me out_?", he asked, squinting at her suspiciously, his thoughts about Sonny slightly pushed to the back.

"Duh! What do _you _think I was trying to do? Inform you about my relationship status _just for fun_?"

What was with this girl? One second she was shy, the next second she was confident and the third she was _bossy? _Chad was so unnerved by the girl's audacity that a certain brunette was forgotten about for a few moments.

"To _what_ do I owe you the pleasure?", he asked, his voice loaded with sarcasm.

"Humph! Take it or leave it! If you don't want to date me then you're the loser", she huffed.

" _I_ am the loser? In case your pea-brain hasn't registered the fact yet, you are talking to _the_ Chad Dylan Cooper, _asking him out_, no less", he retorted. The girl was stretching his tolerance; he was seriously going to have to kick her out soon if she kept up her tirade. Who did she think she was to _demand_ to go out with him? Nobody got away with demanding anything from Chad Dylan Cooper unless that somebody was Miss Sonnyshine Munroe. _She_ could demand whatever she wanted; he would do it for her after letting her run around for sometime (just so he could entertain himself with watching her get all worked up) and in the end, unswervingly, he _would _do it for her, just to see her sunshine of a smile take over her face.

This girl Lucy or Luny or whatever her name was, however, was an entirely different story.

"Now get out!"

"Ok! You want me to beg?", she asked resignedly. " Let me try it this way: Oh Chad Dylan Cooper the great, will you please go out with me?"

"Much better", said Chad, his chest puffing.

"You leave me with no choice", she replied, with a frown on her face.

"So yes or no?"

Chad considered her demand-turned-request. It _had _been a long time since he had gone on a date. In any case, this girl was begging him and she wasn't bad-looking (though she would never be as cute as Sonny). And his prospects with Sonny looked very bleak at the moment (not that it stopped him from trying). So why not give it a go?

"Yes"

The girl walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"What's your name again?", Chad asked, looking quite unmoved by her gesture.

She looked at him in disbelief and said a little exasperatedly "_Leslie_"

"Ok Leslie, bye then, get going. Chad Dylan needs his alone time."

**Half an hour later, at the commissary:**

Sonny quietly slipped in the fro-yo line behind Chad. He stood there, unaware of her presence. She tapped him on the shoulder.

"Wait! Can't you see that Chad Dylan Cooper is getting his fro-...", he turned around, only to see a slightly angry Sonny standing too close to him to do any good to his sanity. Her perfume overtook his senses and reflexively, he closed his eyes. After inhaling deeply, he opened them, getting mesmerized, against his will, in her chocolate brown ones. Cupping her face using one hand and running the other through her soft, wavy locks, he pulled her closer and leaned down…

"Chad!", Sonny shouted, shattering his trance.

"One moment you completely ignore me and the next, you try to _kiss_ me?"

Chad didn't respond. He simply looked at her. They were still standing very close. Neither of them bothered to move farther and neither of them wanted to.

"What's _wrong_ with you?" Silence.

"Answer me Chad!" she sounded desperate.

When silence followed her words yet again, she grabbed his collar and asked, sounding close to tears, "Why are you ignoring me? What did I do to you?"

Chad's heart soared on hearing that she cared whether he talked to her or not; and his retaliation "Like you don't know why" went back down his throat. Gazing into those beautiful eyes, he could not but let her off the hook.

"I'm sorry Munroe"

She let go of his collar and moved back a little.

A hint of a smile appeared on her face, her eyes gained a little gleam.

Both of them remained silent for a few moments, each one consumed in one's own thoughts. Then, all of a sudden, Sonny's face broke out into a huge grin.

"Oh my goodness!", she exclaimed.

Chad looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

"You just apologized! Chad Dylan Cooper just _apologized!"_

Chad inwardly cursed himself. It wasn't fair that Sonny had this tight of a rein over him. First the jealousy, now the apology. When had his life become _so_ Sonny-centered?

"Shh Sonny, keep your voice down. Don't want people to hear that now, do we?"

"You don't want them to know that you apologized?"

"Yes"

"Then I _have_ to tell them", she said. Her eyes were dancing.

"No you don't", scowled Chad.

"Yes I do"

"No you don't"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

They looked at each other for a second and simultaneously, they burst out into laughter, joy and energy coursing through their veins. Both of them felt great to be back on bickering terms with one another.

"Hey Chad Dylan!"

Chad groaned. Talk about ruining moments. Leslie came and attached herself to his arm.

"Sonny, meet my girlfriend Leslie. Leslie…Sonny", he said, his tone devoid of enthusiasm.

"Hi", Sonny responded, a little stiffly.

So Miss Leslie Mallory was girlfriend number 9. Jealousy pinched Sonny when Chad introduced her as "my girlfriend". Still, it was only a pinch, not a stab. She knew Chad enough to know that he was already finding Leslie clingy; his unenthusiastic tone was a good indicator. And he had probably asked her out simply because he had been bored. But that did not stop Sonny from disliking any girl who clung to Chad's arm. And this time…

**Hula girls! I was rereading some of my favorite stories and this story seemed to be a very fickle attempt compared to all those. No wonder I have been getting so few reviews (only 3 last chapter ****). So here's the product of more effort. Do you see a change? Do you like it? Don't like it? Please **_**do**_** review. Because not getting reviews is seriously discouraging. So please…:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance**

**A/N: You guys responded wonderfully to my review plea and made me **_**very**_** happy. So, a **_**big**_** thanks to all those who reviewed. As a reward, here's an extra long chapter. **

**Read it and tell me what you think about it in a review. Please?**

**The next day morning**

**Mackenzie Falls lounge**

"Hi Chad!"

"Hi Portlyn!"

Portlyn came in with a smile on her face.

"So how did your scene with Marta go?", she asked. Portlyn's character was a recurring one and not a regular. So she wasn't needed on the set everyday.

"It went smoothly. Completed it in 3 takes", Chad replied, satisfaction apparent on his face.

"Good for you. So shall we run the lines once before the shoot starts?"

"Yeah sure"

**Forenoon**

Portlyn walked towards Chad cautiously.

"Hey Chad, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

Chad noticed the twinkle in her eyes, the twinkle that appeared whenever she teased him about Sonny. He braced himself. This was _not_ going to be good.

"What is it I hear about _the_ Chad Dylan Cooper apologizing?", she asked, smirking.

Chad gritted his teeth. So Sonny had lived up to her word, had she? Stupid Sonny. Stupid Sonny for spreading the news around when he had specifically told her not to. Stupid Sonny for that annoying sunshine smile of hers which made him unable to be mad at her.

"Yeah I did. So what?"

"So _why_ did you apologize to her?", she asked, looking interested.

"Actually, I had been ignoring her completely for the past two days. So I figured I owed her an apology for being so discourteous. That's why"

"Why did you ignore her?"

At this, Chad remained silent. Voicing out his issues would somehow make them more intimidating and harder to confront.

"Simply"

"Chad!"

"_Ok fine_! I was feeling jealous of her boyfriend, alright?"

"She has a boyfriend?", Portlyn asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, the guy who has been hanging around at the studios a lot lately… the one with the brown hair"

"Yeah, I can recollect…He's her boyfriend? She told you so?"

"No, _you _did."

"No I _didn't_. All I told you was that he was somebody from her native state. I wasn't sure _who_ he was…"

Chad stared at Portlyn. She was right. _She_ hadn't told him that that guy was Sonny's boyfriend. Then who had? Uh oh! _Nobody_ had told him anything about Sonny dating Mr. Brown Hair.

He had simply jumped to that conclusion all by himself. In fact, he hadn't seen them going on a date, holding hands _or_ kissing (thank heavens for that!). So why had he presumed that they were going out?

So was there a chance that the brown-haired guy wasn't her boyfriend?

His heart felt much lighter now that he knew that there was. A huge grin spread on his face at the thought and talking to Portlyn about Sonny didn't seem such a bad idea anymore.

"Marta told me about your cranky behavior yesterday. And it _was_ bad the day before too…and it was all because of _Sonny_?"

"Maybe", shrugged Chad, his bearing almost defensive.

"Wow Chad, I've never seen you _so_ upset over a girl. You must like her a lot…"

"I don't like her a _lot_. I only have a small, _very_ small crush on her" It was an outright lie of course. He had a _huge_ crush on Sonny. Actually Chad sometimes thought that the word 'crush' was a serious underestimation of his feelings for Sonny. But _Portlyn_ didn't have to know that. So he resorted to his usual, "Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't fall for girls; _they_ fall for him"

She scoffed at this.

"In fact I don't think that you just _like_ her, I actually think that you're in_ love_ with her."

Chad looked at Portlyn incredulously. Like? Yes. Like a lot? _Yes_. But _love_? He wasn't so sure.

"Don't give me that look Chad. You don't believe me, do you?"

Chad simply shook his head. Words felt too heavy in his mouth to talk.

"Come with me, I'll prove it to you"

"_Where _are you taking me?"

"Oh just trust me and come", she replied, a little irately.

She made him stand in front of a flower vase.

"Okay Chad, I'll ask you some questions and you'll have to answer them honestly. Deal?"

Chad laughed inwardly. Contrary to what the general populace reckoned, he did not believe that honesty was the best policy.

"We'll see"

"I'm only doing you a favor, 'kay? So heed me and be honest, at least to yourself"

Picking a flower from the vase, she asked him, "Have you noticed this flower vase before?"

Of course he had. Silly question.

"Yeah"

"Do you remember _when_ it was placed here?"

"No"

Now Portlyn's eye had a knowing glint. Chad wondered what it was all about.

"So _when_ did you first notice it?", she asked.

Chad's mind reeled back…

_Sonny Munroe, the queen of grand ideas, had decided to organize a prom. Chad, on the other hand, was yet undecided on the nuances of romance. So when Sonny gushed on about how romantic proms were, Chad snubbed her by expressing his skepticism about it and the conversation ended up as one of their trademark spats. But something about it intrigued Chad; he wanted to know if the romance that Sonny had talked about existed outside of Mackenzie Falls, he wanted to know if the dazzling fantasia his head had conjured up in response to Sonny's monologue had a real world counterpart. And so he went. _

_When he held Sonny in his arms, he realized the truth in her words about 'a perfect dance' with 'one special person'. He smiled at her and she returned it; the night felt more beautiful than ever. But it was over all too soon. Even though he wanted to ask her for another dance, he couldn't, not when her castmates were all there. So he went back to Mackenzie Falls to reflect on what had transpired at the prom: the silent, unusual, almost ethereal harmony that had existed between Sonny and him when they had danced, the experience of romance that he'd thought was fabled…_

"_Chad"_

"_Sonny?"_

"_I just came here to thank you for giving me my perfect dance…it-" ,she sighed "it meant a lot to me" she said, giving him a tentative smile._

_Under usual circumstances, Chad would have been self-centered and attributed it to his greatness, but this time the aura seemed too pristine and delicate to be broken by shallow comments._

"_I had a great time too, Sonny"_

_Both of them fell silent, contemplating how comfortable and nice they suddenly felt with each other. The abrupt change in the comfort level was almost disarming…_

"_Er Sonny…Can I have another dance?" , Chad asked, standing up and holding out his arms._

_Sonny smiled and readily slipped her right hand into his left one and placed her left on his shoulder. He took out his music player and placed one earphone into her ear and another into his. He then turned on the music and placed his right arm over her waist. _

_Both of them waltzed around the place, completely oblivious to everything but one another. The atmosphere seemed to echo their state of mind: blissful, romantic and magical._

_They would have danced on forever but their stamina did not permit it. So they turned off the music and smiled at each other; it had been a lovely experience and something that they would be unlikely to forget in their lifetime. _

"_Wow Chad, these flowers look so beautiful. Are they real?"_

_Chad looked at the vase she was talking about. He had to agree with her…everything seemed extra beautiful after the dance. He picked a flower and ran it over his face._

"_No Sonny, they aren't real. I suppose they are scented plastic ones"_

"_But they are beautiful all the same"_

"_Yes Sonshine they are…if you want you can take them"_

"_No Chad, they beautify this place too much to take them away from here…let them be", saying that, she brushed the petals softly._

That was the day when he had actually looked at those flowers closely. That was the day he had begun appreciating their presence.

And ever since that day, those flowers were reminders to Chad of all things beautiful. More than anything, they brought back the memories of the dance that had taught him romance. He smiled reminiscently.

"I _knew_ it!" Portlyn's triumphant voice broke through his thoughts. He looked at her startled.

"Knew _what_?"

"Knew that you associate these flowers with Sonny. _See_, you're in love with her"

Chad finally understood what Portlyn was trying to say. Being in love enhanced the beauty of and brought appreciation to otherwise subtle things like flowers.

**Meanwhile, in the corridor near **_**So Random!**_

"Hey _Leslie_, sweetie, how're you doing?", asked Sonny Munroe in a pseudo-sweet voice.

The red-haired girl turned towards the source of the greeting.

"You're Sonny Munroe, right?"

"Yep, the one and only"

"Fine, thank you."

"You're dating Chad Dylan Cooper, aren't you?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Just thought I'd let you in on some of the things about his likes and dislikes."

Leslie looked at Sonny suspiciously.

"How do _you_ know what Chad likes and what he doesn't?"

"I'm a close friend of his, silly"

"_Okay_, go on"

"Do you have an orange gown?"

Leslie nodded.

"Then wear it to the date. He _loves_ orange" Chad hated orange.

"Okay"

"Chad's secret passion is reading. So gift him with _tons_ of books" Chad hated reading (as his walkathon against books so clearly showed).

"Really? He doesn't seem to be the type who likes to read much"

Ugh! Why did that girl have to be so inquisitive, why couldn't she just go along with everything that Sonny said?

"Yes, _really_"

"Okay, if you say so. Then?"

"Comment on how totally not cool his middle name is. He _hates_ 'Dylan' with a passion"

Leslie raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"He _really_ hates it. Believe me"

Sonny had to stifle her giggles on imagining Chad's expression if he ever heard the statement.

"His favorite show is _So Random!_ Comment on how much you enjoy it"

Leslie just nodded her head.

"Okay then, I gotta go. Have a good time on your date! Bye!"

**A/N: Okay dear readers, I am a little unsure about this chapter. I don't know if it has come out well.**

**Background information:**

**1 Portlyn does not know **_**exactly**_** what caused Chad to notice the flowers. But she has correctly guessed that it has something to do with Sonny using a combination of feminine intuition and the fact that she has caught Chad staring at them every once in a while with a love-struck expression on his face. And Chad is still processing the possibility that he might be in love. He is almost but not fully convinced yet.**

**2 Sonny's mischief isn't over yet. And Leslie is treating Sonny's words with a pinch of salt.**

**3 For those of you who missed Jake, he'll be back the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance or Twitter.**

**IMPORTANT: Please do not skip the author's note at the end of this chapter.**

_That was the day when he had actually looked at those flowers closely. That was the day he had begun appreciating their presence._

_And ever since that day, those flowers were reminders to Chad of all things beautiful. More than anything, they brought back the memories of the dance that had taught him romance. He smiled reminiscently._

_"I knew it!" Portlyn's triumphant voice broke through his thoughts. He looked at her startled._

_"Knew what?"_

_"Knew that you associate these flowers with Sonny. See, you're in love with her"_

_Chad finally understood what Portlyn was trying to say. Being in love enhanced the beauty of and brought appreciation to otherwise subtle things like flowers._

Ok, so _maybe_ he was in love. Most probably.

Chad had spent more than one night, tossing around on his bed, wondering what was happening to him (he would do something nice, something highly image-damaging for Sonny on a whim and then in hindsight he would realize how idiotic he must have seemed, but would then revert to feeling happy anyway because Sonny would have smiled); wondering why Sonny had suddenly become the primary focus in his life; wondering what people meant when they said that he had changed.

Now he knew the supposed one-word answer to all these questions: _love_.

His love for Sonny had not been a spur of moment realization. Rather, it had been coming on for a few days. But he had to give Portlyn credit, because, had it not been for her prodding, he might not have reached the penultimate step of admitting it to himself for several months.

"So when are you going to tell Sonny?"

"Tell Sonny what?"

"That you're in love with her"

"I never said I was in love with her"

"You are unbelievable Chad! _You_ know that you're in love, _I_ know that you're in love, you know that I know that you're in love. What's the point in denying it?"

It wasn't as easy as Portlyn made it out to be. He had never been great at dealing with emotions, let alone having light-toned conversations about them.

It was so ironic that it was virtually comical, that he worked on Mackenzie Falls, where love happened in almost every episode, where he, Mackenzie, articulately, fluently confessed his love to Penelope or Chloe every other episode and yet, when it was happening to him in real life, he felt like he was lost in some alien land, left all alone to find his way through vast expanses of unknown terrains.

"Why do you girls _like_ talking about emotions so much? The more uncomfortable I feel, the more you seem to want to talk about it. Why can't you talk about something cool like soccer or cars?"

"_Come on_ Chad, I never really imagined even for a second that _you_ would fall in love before me, that _you_ would get to tell me all this. I always thought that it would be the other way round: me telling you about the whole falling-in-love experience and you nodding your head, totally clueless. So this is just _so_ exciting… come on, tell me when you're going to tell her"

"Portlyn"

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking. Or else…or else your job will be in jeopardy"

She laughed.

"Empty threat Chadford"

"_Don't_ call me Chadford and seriously, the only topics you're allowed to talk about from now on are _Mackenzie Falls_, how awesome I am and how cool my new _Ford Mustang_ is. If you don't have anything to say about them, then do me a favor and just shut up"

Portlyn glared at him and said, "Stupid boys! What do you guys _have_ against romance?"

Chad didn't answer her. He badly needed a respite from the intensity of the subject. Maybe he could go see Sonny. He strolled out towards the _So Random!_ sets.

As he approached the prophouse, he could see two girls standing in the corridor, apparently in serious discussion. The girl with her back towards him was clearly Sonny, her beautiful hair bouncing because of all the nodding she was doing. He would recognize those red tinged brown waves anywhere. The other girl seemed vaguely familiar too. Who was she? Oh yeah… she was Leslie. He wondered what business Sonny could possibly have with her.

Just then, Sonny waved to Leslie and turned, Chad assumed, to head towards the prophouse. The discussion seemed to be over. Leslie lingered there for a second, apparently absorbed in thoughts, then turned around and headed towards where Chad stood, perhaps to go to her sets.

Chad quickly slipped into a smaller pathway, hoping Leslie wouldn't notice him. Portlyn had already used up his tolerance quota for the day. He did not have enough endurance left to manage Leslie too. He wanted to see _only_ Sonny.

Thankfully, he reached the prophouse unnoticed by Leslie.

Sonny was seated on the couch. There were several photos scattered on the table in front of her. A huge album lay open on her lap. Her sight flickered back and forth between the photos and the album.

"Hey Sonny"

"Chad" she looked up and gave him a smile.

"Looks like _somebody_ remembered the way to the prophouse again", she muttered, her eyes back on the album.

Chad smirked.

"Looks like _somebody_ missed me"

Sonny's cheeks turned a baby pink. She crossed her arms and determinedly looked the other way.

"_Nobody_ missed _anybody_"

Her words said something, but her body language said something else altogether. Her demeanor was defiant and expressed a trace of anger. Chad smiled. She must have really missed him if she could get angry at him for bringing it up.

"No, but Sonny missed Chad", he said.

Sonny smiled. Something about the way he linked their names together in a single sentence tugged at her heart.

"No, she did not", she said, looking at him. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, she did", he replied, without breaking the eye contact.

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Did not"

"Okay _fine_, drop it…so…what are you doing with all these?", Chad asked gesturing to the scattered photographs.

"Actually, I was going to make a scrapbook of all the good times I had in Wisconsin; but then I just got caught up in looking at the photographs and reliving all the memories and couldn't get anything done."

"So then show them to me, tell me about your life before Hollywood"

Sonny was pleased that Chad seemed genuinely interested in her life. She opened her album and gestured Chad to sit next to her.

He sat down and looked at the photos. He was amazed by the measures Sonny had seemingly taken to make the album look good.

All the pictures had hand-drawn abstract patterns as backdrops.

"See…this is Lucy …my best friend…the girl who had attended your 16th birthday party, remember?"

"Ahh, yes, the one because of whom you refused to attend the bash. Yeah, I remember", Chad replied a little icily.

"Aww Chad, I am sorry about it"

"Fine"

"Fine"

"Good"

"Good. And see, this is a picture of my glass painting. It now hangs in daddy's room because he liked it so much", Sonny said proudly.

Chad simply shrugged and said, "It's alright"

Sonny glared at him.

"_Fine_, its kind of nice. _Happy_?"

"Not if you didn't really mean it"

"I _did_ mean it, it actually _is_ quite fine-looking. It's just that I'm not much into arts, Sonny. But I _am_ impressed by this artistic side of yours" Sonny nodded, unsurprised.

"And by the way, what's with you and flowers?", Chad asked, alluding to her painting.

Sonny laughed.

"Chad, I am a _girl_. And girls _like_ flowers"

"_This_ is my full-family", she continued, pointing to a picture on the left. Chad looked at it closely. There was the brown-haired guy in it!

"Hey, who's this guy?"

"Oh I forgot to introduce Jake to you, right? He's my brother"

"_Brother?_", Chad asked, shocked.

**Meanwhile, at Sonny's house:**

Jake Munroe was getting increasingly restless. He peered into the kitchen and silently watched his mother cooking for thirty seconds. Then,

"Mom, I am _bored_"

"Read, go watch _So random!_, browse the internet. Just stop pestering me every other minute so I can make lunch before tomorrow"

Then Jake remembered about his _Tawni Diary._ It had been a long time since he wrote in it. And he could do it only in Sonny's absence. So why not now?

He switched on his laptop and logged in to his Twitter account. He looked at Tawni's latest tweets and the number of followers she had. He took out his diary and checked it against the number he had predicted for the month. It was off merely by 278. He smiled to himself. He _knew_ that it was an exponential curve from his careful observations of the number of followers she had each day. He calculated next month's number and wrote it down.

Then, he turned his attention to her tweets.

The latest one said, "Bought a terracotta show piece yesterday. It looks almost as lovely as me :)"

So she liked terracotta works? He added 'terracotta' below 'Prada shoes' on the page titled 'Tawni's likes'.

He then googled for news on Tawni. A particular one caught his eye 'Tawni Hart still looking for the man of her dreams'. He smiled. She would find him soon.

**A/N: **

**This is about the next update. There's an examination result release right around the corner. It is a huge thing for me. I **_**will**_** be affected by it, one way or the other. So I don't think I'll be able to write for a few days. So I don't know when the next update will be. Most probably not in the next week. Sorry guys :(**

**For those of you who skipped the previous author's notes, I suggest you go back and read them because you might have missed the background information on some characters. It'll help you understand the story better.**

**Review please :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.**

"_Oh I forgot to introduce Jake to you, right? He's my brother"_

"_Brother?", Chad asked, shocked. _

Sonny nodded.

"Brother?", Chad repeated.

"_Yes_, Chad. Brother. Who did you think he was: my _boyfriend_?", she asked, laughing.

Then, looking at the expression on Chad's face, her laughter stopped abruptly.

"Oh my God! You _actually_ thought he was my boyfriend!"

Chad remained speechless. Somehow, he just couldn't find words to counteract her accusation. His brain was too busy processing the new information. His embarrassment was growing by the second as he realized how stupid his behavior had been in the past week.

"Hello? Chad? You still here?"

"Uh…yeah, so what were we talking about?"

"We were talking about how ridiculous you are to think that Jake could possibly be my boyfriend"

"Hey, I'm not ridiculous"

"Oh, so you admit that you mistook Jake for my boyfriend?"

"Yes. So what?"

"Ha ha, nothing. I just find it amusing, that's all"

"Hey, what else was I supposed to think? You never told me you had a brother. Then suddenly, one day, this guy's here and he sits next to you, puts his arm around you, drives you home after work…what else was I supposed to think?"

Sonny looked at him keenly. Did he really sound envious or was it her imagination?

"Chad, were you mad at me because you thought I had a boyfriend?", she asked seriously.

He met her eyes and smiled teasingly.

"Maybe"

Sonny took it as a yes. She wasn't surprised by his answer. She had realized quite long ago that something had been happening between Chad and her. She liked him and he liked her. That much was evident. They flirted, they hung out together, they danced with one another; they were almost a couple.

But, like them, their relationship was queer. Officially, they weren't dating. But neither of them complained. They were happy to be in the state they were in, as long as the other person wasn't getting very serious with some other person. If that happened, they would kick in and interrupt it before it got too late. That sort of relationship had sufficed till a few days ago.

But it did not anymore.

Lately, Sonny had been feeling very possessive about Chad. A few weeks ago, she might have not minded Leslie. But now, she did.

_She _wanted to be on his arm, _she _wanted to be called his girlfriend, _she _wanted to go on dates with him.

Random conversations in the cafeteria didn't seem to be enough any longer neither did the good-good-fine-fine spats.

And it seemed to her that Chad was beginning to feel the same way too, by the way he'd reacted when he'd thought that Jake was her boyfriend.

So what were they going to do about it?

How was she going to confront Chad about it?

Then, an idea struck her…

"Hey, Chad…when is your next date with Leslie?"

Chad looked at her suspiciously.

"Why?"

"Simply", she replied, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I won't tell you"

"Pleeeeaaaaaaase, Chad"

"Okay, fine. Tomorrow night at 8"

"Where?"

"Why are you so curious, Munroe?"

"Simply"

"Your actions seem to be very suspicious. And what were you doing with Leslie earlier?"

"Just having a friendly chat with her"

"Really? You've never had a friendly chat with her before"

"How do you know? I am friendly with everybody"

To this, Chad couldn't reply. Undeniably, Sonny was friendly with everyone.

"So, where are you taking her?"

Chad resigned to telling her, "_Spencer Restaurant_"

"Oh"

If she executed her plan properly, that would be Chad's last date with some other girl.

"Why are you smiling so widely?"

"Simply. Okay, come, let's go back to the photographs"

**Later, at Sonny's house:**

Sonny was getting ready for Dakota Condor's party. It was going to be held at the studio in another two hours. Everybody at the studio was invited.

Jake was coming as well.

"Mom, I don't want Jake to come", whined Sonny, watching Jake getting ready.

"Why not, honey?"

"He'll embarrass me by flirting with Tawni"

"No, I won't", interrupted Jake.

Sonny rounded on him.

"Jake, why are you _so_ infatuated with Tawni? You don't _know_ her. She's so _unlike_ you"

"Of course I know her, Sonny. Look at this", he replied, handing her his Tawni diary.

Sonny flipped through the book. She looked like she wanted to faint.

"Jake, this is _creepy. _I hope you realize that Tawni is not a topic in physics to be taken notes on and made inferences from"

Jake laughed.

"Sonny, Sonny, Sonny, physics has taught me that breaking down complex things and looking at one part at a time simplifies them a lot and makes them much easier to analyze. Know what I mean?"

"No, I have _no clue_ what you are talking about. All I know is that you and Tawni are a big no-no"

Now Jake was beginning to get angry.

"How can you be so sure we won't work out?"

"See, if you started dating, you'd probably want to take her to planetarium or NASA Ames Research centre or…"

"CERN in Geneva?", offered Jake.

Sonny nodded, "See what I mean?"

"First of all, Sonny, planetariums are boring. I do theoretical physics, not astronomy"

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"Of course not. And secondly, I wouldn't take Tawni to any of those places, even though _I_ would love to go. I would take her to posh, glitzy restaurants, then to symphony orchestra"

"Okayyy, so you know about her…but don't you think that what you have on her is a mere celebrity crush?"

"It started out as one, I admit. But after seeing her in person, I really want to ask her out"

"Fine, it's up to you. I've warned you and my job is done. But whatever happened to that study-buddy cum rival of yours?"

"Adrianna?"

"Yes"

"She's just a study-buddy. Nothing more, nothing less"

"But you guys are so similar; you're always competing for something or the other, always breathing down one another's necks…"

"Yes, Sonny. That's because we're _rivals_"

Seeing the puzzled expression on her face, he added, "Not every rivalry has to end in love. Not every pair is like you and Chad, you know?"

She blushed.

"What? Sonny's in love with that Mackenzie boy?", asked a shocked Connie.

Sonny glared at Jake, "No, I'm not"

"Yes, she is", replied a smirking Jake.

**Later in the evening**

**At the Condor Studios**

**Dakota Condor's birthday party**

"Hey, Dakota, Happy Birthday! Eleventh birthday, is it?", smiled Sonny.

The little girl just glared at her. Taking the hint, Sonny handed Dakota her present and scurried away to the back.

"Hey, Munroe"

"Hiya, Chad. What are you doing here? Hiding from Dakota?"

"When someone is as great as me, they have to resort to such steps to safeguard their life", said Chad in a very serious tone.

Sonny started laughing.

"Haha Chad, you are _so _stuck-up. Safeguard your life? Really?"

"Yes, _really_. There's nothing funny about it"

"Trust me, I am a comedienne. I _know _funny when I see it. I just can't see how anybody can be so dense", said Sonny, still laughing.

"Chad Dylan Cooper is _not_ dense and you don't _know _funny"

"Sorry to break this little tête-à-tête, but Sonny, have you seen Tawni?", interrupted Jake.

"Oh, hi Jake. Right on time. Chad, Jake. Jake, Chad", said Sonny, introducing the boys to one another.

Chad felt a little hot under his collar on remembering how much he had glared at Jake. Jake didn't seem to mind, though. He stretched out his hand.

Chad took it, rather unwillingly.

"Nice to meet you"

Chad simply nodded. He couldn't reciprocate the sentiment. He wanted to leave Jake's presence as soon as possible.

Sonny watched the scene with interest. She could sense Chad's growing discomfort.

"And yeah, about Tawni, she's probably hiding from you", she interrupted, wanting to spare Chad the awkwardness.

Jake scowled at her and went away.

"So…", said Chad, still recovering from embarrassment.

"So where's your _girlfriend_?", asked Sonny.

"I don't know"

"Good"

"Why? You jealous?"

"No", said a defiant Sonny.

"I think you are", said a smirking Chad.

"No, I'm not"

"Yes, you are"

"No, I'm not"

"Yes"

"No"

.

.

.

**A/N: So, there goes the 7****th**** chapter. As you can see, the drama has come to an end. But humor and romance have not. There are 2 more chapters left. I hope you all enjoyed the story so far.**

**About my other story, **_**Sonny's Night Out**_**, I wanted to make it a multi-chapter. But the reader response has not been good (I got only 2 reviews for **_**Out of Tawni Town**_**). So unless I get more reviews, I'll end it with **_**Out of Tawni Town**_**, because you people don't seem to enjoy it much. What's the point in writing when readers don't enjoy?**

**And, review this, okay?**

**Toodles **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: You people made me very happy with so many reviews, favoriting and putting the story on alerts. So here's my thank you : an extra early update!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.**

**9:00 PM**

**Sonny's house**

**(After the party)**

Sonny and Jake were sitting on the couch with their feet propped up on a table, silently watching television. An atypical peace reigned in the room, because, for once, they weren't arguing. Both of them were engrossed in their own thoughts. The day had been a rather eventful one.

*Sonny's phone moos*

Sonny sat up from her reverie, looking around for her mooing phone. She traced the sound to her room. She rushed into the room to pick it up-

"Hello?"

"Sonny, it's me, Tawni"

"Hi, Tawn. What's up?"

"Actually, a lot… Your brother asked me out", said Tawni in a very calm voice.

"He _what?_ _When_?", asked a shocked Sonny. Jake hadn't told her anything about it.

"Yes, he did, back at that devil's birthday"

"Did you agree or disagree? I bet you disagreed, 'cause you don't go out with normal people…"

"Sonny! Let me talk! I did not agree _or_ disagree. I just didn't know what to do. That's why I called you"

"I don't know, Tawni. He's not a movie star or an hotelier or a prince. I don't know if it will work out"

"Yeah, I know that he's not a movie star or a hotelier, but I…I don't know…"

"Do _you_ want to go out with him?"

"Sort of…_yes._ I know that he's a very different guy…but is there any harm in giving it a shot?", asked Tawni.

"No, I suppose not. But ultimately, it's your wish"

"Okay, then, I'll try dating him"

"Shall I tell him that you said yes?"

"No, I'll tell him myself. Bye then"

"Bye, Tawn"

"She said yes?", asked an excited Jake, standing right outside her room. Apparently, he'd been eavesdropping on the conversation. Sonny saw no point in denying the truth. She sighed and nodded.

"Yes!", jumped Jake, punching the air. Sonny smiled.

"How did you know it was Tawni?"

"Just took a guess…Anyways, got to go prepare for the date…"

"What do you mean prepare for the date? There's nothing to prepare…"

But Jake had already left the room.

Sonny sighed again; it was a crazy life.

And she had to get ready for her excursion.

She reached for a dusty wooden crate and cleaned it. Then she opened it to see if its contents were intact. She smiled; they were. It was a good thing she hadn't given them away. Who knew they would come in handy _for this _occasion?

**The next day**

**7:15 PM**

**Sonny's house**

Sonny looked at her reflection in the mirror. She _had_ done a good job. Patting herself on the back, she went to the living room.

It was a good thing that Jake had already left for his date.

"Hey mom, I'm going out"

"Okay, sweetie, be back soon. By the way, what's with the clothes you're wearing? Aren't they a little…_boyish_?", asked Connie, taking in Sonny's extremely loose white shirt, a similar sized hooded jacket over it and her masculine pants.

Sonny squirmed under her mother's close observation.

"It's okay, mom"

"Are you sure? Shall I pick something else for you? How about the ski-"

"_No, _mom. I'm leaving. Bye!"

Sonny hurriedly exited the apartment before her mother could force her into some other set of clothes.

Once she reached the dark shadow of the building, she pulled her hair up and fastened it with a clip. Then she reached for Eric's beard and mustache and put them on. She then stuck a fringe of matching hair on her forehead..

She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and moved under a street lamp. She pulled out her compact mirror and checked if her disguise was convincing enough.

She clicked her tongue in satisfaction and hailed a cab.

**7:30 PM**

**Chad's house**

Chad was pacing the living room, debating with himself on whether or not he should start yet.

He could start late and be fashionably late or he could start early and get the date done with as soon as possible. It wasn't like he was very interested in that girl anyways.

A buzz interrupted his thoughts.

He took out his cell phone. He had a new text.

_Started yet?- Sonny._

Seeing the text, a flurry of memories of recent times with Sonny hit him: how she had started acting possessive of him and how she had become very inquisitive about his dates all of a sudden; how she had begun picking up his feelings much clearly than ever before. And no, he did not find these sudden changes in her persona unattractive at all. On the contrary, he was quite glad that she was doing so. Because that meant that she was as interested in him as he was in her. Heck, he was in _love_ with her. So no, he didn't mind it at all.

_No,why? Jealous? :) - Chad_

And he knew that Sonny was up to something. He wasn't stupid. He was anticipating some mischief from her tonight.

And that allured him to the date more than Leslie did.

_Ha! You wish! - Sonny_

**8:15 PM**

**The restaurant**

Sonny tapped her feet in impatience. It was fifteen minutes past the time Chad was supposed to arrive with Leslie and the he hadn't turned up _yet_.

Was he going to come or not? Or had he lied to her?

Just then, they walked in. The picturesque couple, hand in hand, much to Sonny's dismay. She hated how good they looked with each other. And when she'd asked Leslie to wear an orange dress, she had meant actual, bright orange, not brick red, which, much to her displeasure, suited her hair color.

It looked like her plan was backfiring on herself.

She groaned, shooing away the waiter and taking out her cell phone. It was time for another text.

**A few moments earlier**

Leslie grabbed Chad's arm as they walked towards the hotel from the parking lot. He _did_ mind, but he refrained from saying anything. After all, they were supposed to be on a date.

"I've never been to this restaurant before, Chad. Is it good?", asked Leslie.

Chad rolled his eyes.

"Leslie, if it wasn't good, why would I bring you here?"

They entered the glitzy place.

Chad's eyes scanned the whole dimly lit chamber for a trace of silky brown hair, but he spotted none. A little disappointed, he sat down at a table opposite his date.

He was so sure that Sonny would turn up tonight. How come she hadn't?

His phone buzzed.

He took it out. His face spread out in a wide grin when he read the received text. _Don't gawk at Leslie – Sonny. _He didn't realize that he had been looking at Leslie. It had happened inadvertently as he had been thinking about Sonny.

He looked around. He could still not catch sight of Sonny. Puzzled, but happy about the streak of jealousy and possessiveness that Sonny was showing, he typed a reply: _Lol, so u r jealous :) - Chad _and pressed the send button.

"Um, hey Chad, some happy news?", interrupted Leslie.

"No, nothing, just forwarded jokes", lied Chad, still unable to wipe the grin off his face.

"So, shall we order?", she asked, gesturing to the waiter.

"Yeah, yeah"

They both ordered what they wanted. Chad noticed that Leslie's order was _very_ meager. He was quite used to the Hollywood actresses' peculiar eating habits, but it did not impress him.

All the starving was probably why Leslie lacked Sonny's glow.

As they waited for their food to be brought, Leslie placed her arm over Chad's.

"So, Chad…how's life?", she asked.

"Great", he replied unenthusiastically.

"So…I've heard that you hate your middle name. Is that true?"

That was the most ridiculous thing Chad had ever heard.

"No, I don't. That's utterly _stupid_. Who said that?", he asked fiercely.

"Uh…I have my sources", replied a somewhat embarrassed Leslie.

His phone buzzed. He read the received message eagerly: _Yes I m. So what? And, take your hand off hers. This instant! – Sonny. _He laughed out loudly.

Leslie looked at him with raised eyebrows. He toned down his laugh.

_U admitted it at last. Ha! Victory to Chad the great! Btw, where r u? I can't see you – Chad._

After sending the text, he turned his attention towards Leslie.

"So, where were we?"

"I was asking about your interests. I've heard that you love reading. Really?"

"_What?_ I _hate_ reading. Who gave you that idea?"

Leslie looked like she wanted to evaporate.

"No one. So I'm assuming you don't like _So Random! _either"

"Of course I don't…"

Then the pieces began to fall in place.

"Wait a second, did _Sonny Munroe _tell you all this?"

Leslie nodded sheepishly, "She claimed to be a good friend of yours and told me that she wanted to help me"

"Of course she did", said Chad, more to himself than her.

_**To be continued…**_

_***grins evilly***_

**A/N: I've been wanting to do this chapter since forever. I really hope you all liked it. Review! And by the way, do you want a detailed account of Jake and Tawni's date?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm **_**really**_** sorry for making you all wait so long. I'd been **_**very**_** busy with academics.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.**

_"Wait a second, did __Sonny Munroe __tell you all this?"_

_Leslie nodded sheepishly, "She claimed to be a good friend of yours and told me that she wanted to help me"_

_"Of course she did", said Chad, more to himself than her._

A full-fledged beam took over his face as he realized that he had finally succeeded in gaining the one girl's affections he had been craving for (and vying for) since the day she had stepped into the studio.

He wanted to jump up and dance right then and there. He wanted to announce to the entire world how happy he was. And how lucky, unlike all the rest of the losers, because he had Sonny on his side and they didn't.

He wanted to seek her and ask her out that very instant, a feat that didn't look very feasible, because he _still_ hadn't found her.

Impatiently, he took out his cell phone to beseech her to let him know where she was, only to be greeted by a 'battery critically low' message. He cursed under his breath. Hoping earnestly that the charge would last through the evening, he sent her his plea.

"Chad? You seem to be very distracted" Chad looked up to see an unhappy Leslie. She had evaporated into oblivion as Sonny had overtaken his mind. Her eyes told him that she'd sensed the direction the date was heading and was peeved by it. An infinitesimally small part of his heart (the part which wasn't taken up by Sonny) felt sorry for her. He smiled apologetically and attempted to strike a sensible conversation with her.

Just then, his phone buzzed- _3 tables 2 the fro-. _But before he could read it fully, the phone gave a beep-_ Battery low-switching off _and turned off.

"Shit!", Chad swore angrily, shoving the treacherous device into his pocket.

* * *

Sonny took a bite of her dish, relished it for a few seconds and then turned her attention towards her mobile phone. No reply. Yet. She took another bite, relished that as well and again looked at her phone. Still no reply. What was taking him so long? She tilted her head a little to the right, so she could catch sight of the boy.

He did not have his phone out and it looked like he was engrossed in a conversation with the Mallory girl. Sonny wanted to throw a bite of her dish at his oh-so-wonderful head, but refrained because the hotel authorities might not be too happy with it. And moreover, it was just too delicious.

Sonny wasn't sure if he had gotten her message or not. If he had wouldn't he have greeted her, at least subtly, without drawing Leslie's attention? There was only one way to check. She dialed his number.

_Sorry, but the number you have dialed is switched off. If you wish to leave a voice message…_

Sonny groaned and chucked the phone at the table.

Why had he switched off his phone, especially when they had taken flirting to a whole new level and things had been beginning to look up?

Slowly, her old insecurities and qualms began creeping in. What if she had totally misconstrued his gestures and cues? What if he actually liked Leslie Mallory? What if he thought of her antics as hindrances to his and Leslie's relationship rather than as a step forward in hers and his?

The food in front of her didn't look yummy anymore as she chanced a glance at the happy couple a few tables ahead of her. Chad was laughing and Leslie was nodding her head vigorously, with her long nailed fingers running through her lustrous hair swept in front of her.

Sonny almost felt like Leslie was taunting her, nonverbally telling, _Hey, look at how wonderful my hair is and how dull yours is. No wonder Chad doesn't like you._

And it didn't help that Chad didn't seem to mind Leslie's company at all. Au contraire, he seemed to be having a great time with her.

Sonny's gaze turned to her own interlocked hands on her lap. Maybe it was best to go home. It looked like Chad didn't care about her anymore. Her heart was breaking and she needed time, to contemplate over what she wanted to do

She let the waiter know that she was done, paid the bill and walked out.

* * *

Chad had resigned to the fact that he couldn't ask Sonny out that night. At every turn, misfortune seemed to be _with _him, what with Sonny hiding and his cell phone switching off at the most inopportune moment. So he had given up trying to swim against the currents. Maybe, he was _supposed_ to be giving Leslie a good time, for having agreed to go out with her.

So even though he could barely stop thinking about Sonny, he put on a good show for Leslie, slightly easing his guilty conscience for dating one girl and liking another at the same time.

Just then, a guy hurriedly walked by their table. When Chad caught his eye, his face flushed and he quickly turned away. Chad crinkled his nose in puzzlement. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar, and the bounce in his steps seemed _very _familiar.

Chad mulled over the strange spectacle.

And then it struck him- it was _Sonny_ in her Eric costume. And there was something wrong with the way she had refused to meet his eyes

"Leslie, excuse me for a minute…I'll be back"

Barely registering Leslie's reaction, he ran towards the door through which Sonny had exited. A gust of chill wind hit him when he stepped outside.

He found Sonny sitting on a bench, mutely taking in the rise and fall of water in the fountain in front of her.

* * *

Sonny visually traced the contour of the water jet issuing from the fountain. It had a soothing effect on her wrecked heart.

"Sonny"

Surprised, she turned around to see a smiling Chad. He jogged towards her and sat on the bench.

Not knowing what to say, she settled for a, "Chad"

"Soo… I heard that you enlightened Leslie about me. How sweet of you!", he said sarcastically.

Sonny had already been feeling so bad that she did not think that it was possible for her to feel worse, but she did.

Trying to hold back the tears she knew were welling up in her eyes, she said, "Chad, I'm really sorry for ruining your date with Leslie, okay?"

He looked at her in surprise. That was not the response he had been expecting.

He had been hoping for something on the lines of _Yes, I did. How dare she make a move on my guy?_. Now _that_ would have fell in place with her current behavior _and_ elevated his spirits.

But apparently, she didn't think so.

"So, why did you ruin my date with my pretty woman?", asked Chad, in an attempt to prod her to reveal her jealousy. Little did he know that what he was saying was shattering whatever remnants of Sonny's wreck of a heart were there.

She took a deep breath, momentarily calming down and allowing a tear drop to escape.

"See, Chad, I did a lot of stupid things tonight, one of them being admitting that I was jealous. I like you, okay? And I know that you don't like me in return. I'll never be as good or beautiful as Leslie" By this point tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was unable to speak.

Chad sat there stunned. His happily-ever-after climax was turning into a disastrous anti-climax.

"Sonny", he said, in a feeble attempt to calm her down. He took her hand in his.

She wrenched her hand away from his, deriving a surge of spiteful pleasure on seeing the hurt that flashed in his eyes.

She wanted him to hold her hand, yes. But she also wanted to feel wanted. She didn't want to be treated as his second fiddle. She wished with all her heart that he would try to hold her hand again.

Chad, however, had different plans.

He lowered her hood and unglued the various fringes of blonde hair from her face. He removed the clip that was holding up her real hair and allowed it to cascade down her shoulders, fleetingly mesmerized by how gracefully it did so.

He then ran his fingers through her silky locks, taming the few hairs that were sticking out. The feeling of pleasure upon the touch silenced both of them into amazement.

"There, _now_ who's the beautiful girl?", asked Chad, after what felt like an eternity.

Sonny smiled, her tears having evaporated into non-existence upon Chad's exceedingly sweet gestures. It amazed her how he could make her feel like she was the ugliest girl in the universe and the most beautiful in such a short span of time.

"Sonny, Leslie's got nothing on you. I really, _really_ like you…"

**A/N: Okay, so this is NOT the last chapter. There is one more to go. I thank every one of you who took the time to review, favorite or put the story on alerts. **

**It's amazing how some person on some part of the globe can put a smile on the face of somebody else, someone probably thousands of miles away, all while being anonymous. Trust me, your feedback made this whole story writing a wonderful experience. *bows* So, thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**And oh yeah, review!**

**Would anybody like to write a long review? I'd appreciate it a lot. Short (even one word) reviews are totally welcome too. But still…**

**:)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny with a Chance.**

The words that left Chad's mouth seemed to leave a magical trail in the air in their wake.

"You do?", whispered Sonny softly, conspicuous of their lingering effect.

Chad looked into her brown eyes, finding them deeper and warmer than ever before. In fact, they were _alight_ with happiness.

And vowing to himself to never be the one to extinguish that sparkle in them, he said, "Yes Sonny, I _do_"

Sonny smiled at his words and from his gaze, she could tell that _he_ sensed their implication too.

"Then why did you agree to go out with me?"

Sonny and Chad jumped upon hearing the voice.

"Uh…Leslie?", squirmed Chad.

"Yes, Chad. _Me_", she said, coming fully into their view.

Chad seemed to be at a loss for words, so Sonny decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Leslie", she said, drawing the irate girl's attention to herself. Leslie now turned to glare at her.

"_Yes?_", she spat.

"Um…first of all…sorry, from _both_ of us, we both _really_ owe you an apology"

Leslie didn't say anything. So, Sonny continued, sighing, "Sorry from me because I _deliberately_ misled you…", she gave a guilty smile which Leslie did not return.

So she sighed again.

"I got carried away by jealousy, Leslie. I hope you understand. _Yes_, I know what I did was wrong. But…all I can say is that I'm sorry"

Leslie's expression softened slightly. Feeling a little relieved, Sonny nudged Chad, as he showed no signs of wanting to apologize. He simply shook his head.

"Excuse us a second, Leslie", she said and dragged him out of her earshot.

"Chad, you need to apologize for leading her on!"

"Sonny, Chad Dylan Cooper does _not_ apologize"

"For me, Chad? Please?", pouted Sonny.

Chad sighed, knowing that his immunity to Sonny-pout was nil.

"Fine"

"Fine"

They both walked back to Leslie, realizing that they were holding hands only when her glare intensified at the sight.

"See Leslie, I don't usually apologize. But…I guess I shouldn't have agreed to date you when I liked Sonny. So, sorry"

Leslie closed her eyes and nodded. When she opened them, they were brimmed with tears. It looked like she had been trying very hard to keep them in and channel her emotions through anger. But she seemed to have failed.

Sonny felt very bad and immediately withdrew her hand from Chad's. When he looked at her questioningly, she just gestured to Leslie, who had been overtaken by quiet sobs.

He grew very uncomfortable with the sight. How many girls were going to cry in one night because of him?

"Leslie", he said tentatively and placed an arm over her shoulder.

Much to his dismay, however, her sobs only intensified at the contact. He looked at Sonny helplessly.

She came to his rescue. She put an arm around the upset girl.

"Leslie? Are you alright?", she asked, knowing full well that she wasn't.

"Sonny, I liked Chad a lot. I really did. I almost _begged_ him to go out with me…", she cried.

Chad had never thought that somebody admitting to liking him would feel _so_ bad. But after Leslie's admission, he felt _sick. _And when he thought about how many girls he had dated and dumped without a second thought, guilt almost drowned him.

"Leslie, I'm sorry", he said, very sincerely this time.

Calming down a little, Leslie replied, "You don't know how much I appreciate your apology. Sonny's a lucky girl"

Sonny gave her a kind smile.

"Come on, let's get you home…wait a second. What about the hotel bill?", asked Chad.

"I paid it", Leslie said, sniffing.

"I'll pay back tomorrow, okay? Just tell me the amount", he said.

She didn't reply. Instead she got into his car's backseat with Sonny.

And they set off on the journey back home. Chad decided to drop Leslie off first, even though Sonny's house was nearer, because he and Sonny had a lot of sorting out to do. Nobody spoke until they arrived at Leslie's house. She got down after another round of apologies from Sonny and Chad.

After Leslie disappeared into her house, Sonny got into the front seat.

"Wow! That was a lot of apologies", said Chad. Sonny laughed. It was true. Chad had probably apologized more in one night than he had in the rest of his life put together.

"You've done a lot of growing up today, Chad"

"_That_ I can't deny", he said, smiling.

"At least _now_ you've learnt the difference between girls and toys"

"An unforgettable lesson! _Never_ another Leslie-like episode", he exclaimed.

"Hopefully", said Sonny.

"So…Sonny… will you go out with me?", he asked, bringing the car to a side and turning off the engine.

She looked at him.

"And be the girlfriend number 10 only to be ditched for number 11? No, _thank you_"

Chad's eyes widened in shock. He had been so sure that she would say yes.

Sonny laughed loudly. Now Chad looked at her confused.

"Haha, Chad. You _actually_ believed that? Of _course_ I would like to go out with you. Why else did I go through all this trouble?", she said, indicating her costume.

He exhaled in relief.

Her eyes were dancing with mischief.

"_Sonny_ _Munroe_, you are _so_ going to pay for this someday"

"We'll see about that", she challenged.

"Oh yes, we will", he shot back.

"Fine"

"Fine"

"Good"

"Good. So…you keep count of my girlfriends? Sounds like _somebody_ is obsessed with me"

"I'm not _obsessed_ with you. I just 'accidentally' happen to know how many girlfriends you've had"

At this, Chad made disbelieving noises. And she just ignored him.

Then, after sometime-

"But seriously, will I be in Leslie's position someday?", she asked, not meeting his eyes.

"Sonny, I really care about you. Actually, here goes…I'm _in love_ with you"

Sonny was astounded by his revelation, "Really?", she asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Yes, sunshine. I love you"

"I love you too, Chad"

This time her eyes were brimming with happy tears.

Chad gave her one of his best smiles ever.

"Now, _your_ eyes are sparkling, Sonny"

**Attention! Just because I posted two chapters at the same time doesn't mean that you can get away by reviewing just one. Review this before clicking the next button.**

***stands with magic powder in hand to throw it upon those who don't review to send them to a far away planet***


	11. Chapter 11

Tawni _Hart_.

An _imposing_ name. An imposing _personality_.

Whose every _sentence_ was a statement, every _walk_ a strut.

She didn't follow trends, she _set_ them.

She didn't look up to people, _they _looked up to _her_.

She was a _demi_goddess, an embodiment of flawlessness.

She was _the_ ultimate Hollywood princess, born for the stars.

And _him_?

He was _Jake_ Munroe, an unimpressive personality with a _humble_ name.

A quiet resident of _that_ world where looks did not matter, where communication was sparse.

Where each person was oblivious to the others;

And conspicuous,

Only of the theories, the hypotheses, the proofs.

Where the only beauty beheld was that of the symmetries of nature.

But _he_ knew,

That at the heart of both lay _passion,_

A _drive_;

Fueled by the energy of love,

For logic, for him,

For acting, for _her_;

And _that_ was the thread, the uniting factor.

The _flame_ that outshone all their differences.

Their differences, those _petty _differences.

And he told her so;

_His_ candle

Igniting _her_ candle;

She nodded, she _understood_;

What was a _character_ here was an _equation_ there

And what she acted out here, breathed life into,

Was the solution _there_.

And thus Tawni Hart mustered the pieces together

And her vision transcended the _modest_ face,

Past it, to glimpse one of the _finest_ minds.

And then she knew

And then she knew

That _he_ was her equal.

Not a movie star

Not a prince

Not an hotelier

But _that one man_,

Of a quintessentially same world.

**The End**

**A/N: Okay, people we've reached the end of the story. If you've come this far, then thank you for your patience and your time.**

**This has been one heck of a journey for me! Thank you for making it so wonderful!**

**All you invisible readers, this is your last chance to show yourselves. So, review!**

**And all my regular reviewers, please spare a few seconds one more time and give me your love.**

**This time, if you liked the story, please mention**

**Your favorite character, scene**

**Jawni or Channy**

**Pro-physics or anti-physics**

**How I can improve**

**You don't **_**have**_** to. Maybe you don't have the time. But if you do, thanks.**

**If you disliked the story, tell me why and how it can be improved.**

**Btw, did you like the Jawni poem? It started out as a prose piece, but evolved into a poem. I am proud of it.**

**And another multichapter is coming up (genre:drama). Are you interested?**

**Thanks to **_**all**_** those who reviewed, favorited and put this on alerts for making this worthwhile.**


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